April: Visit to a Murti (Hindu temple)

As the finale to our mini topic on Hinduism, Year 6 were fortunate enough to be invited to a Hindu temple in Swindon. We had a truly interesting and peaceful time looking around the temple trying to spot objects which we had been learning about in class. We took part in some yoga and meditation as well as having the opportunity to experience delicious Indian pakoras. We are very grateful to our Hindu hosts who were so kind and accommodating and were very pleased to answer all of our questions. Please ask us about what we learnt and look out for the information texts we are planning to write at the start of next term which will teach you all about Hinduism.

MOCK TRIAL COMPETITION - MARCH 2019

A team of 12 Year 6 pupils took place in the first round of the 2019 Mock Trial Competition for Primary Schools run by Gloucestershire Magistrates in the Community.  They took on roles as magistrates, prosecutors, witnesses, a legal advisor, members of the witness service, a court artist and a court reporter.  They worked together to prepare the case for the prosecution in the trial of a case of theft of an iPhone and then had to act out the trial with a team from Powells School leading the defence case. 

Pupils from India Class attended as spectators and, after a tense session, the magistrates found the defendant guilty!  Overall winners of the competition will be announced in June and we look forward to finding out how our legal team fared!

Well done to all those who took part; everyone found out a lot about the English legal system which will help us when we are learning about British Values in school.

FAIRGROUND EVENT - MARCH 2019

Year 6 have been busy designing, constructing and decorating their models of fairgound rides this term; they had the chance to show off their wonderful work at this open event.  There were rides of every description, complete with moving parts and lights. 

Alongside this exhibition the pupils organised and ran a range of stalls to tempt visitors.  Some sold biscuits, cakes and popcorn, whilst others sold handmade items.  There were also games such as Splat the Rat, lucky dips and even a human fruit machine!  Pupils donated a share of the profits to Comic Relief; a total of almost £300.

We welcomed pupils from across the school as well as friends and families who enjoyed viewing the models, playing games and buying gifts and sweet treats.  Thank you to everyone who supported this event. 

March: World Book Day

India Class thoroughly enjoyed sharing their favourite books with their friends to celebrate World Book Day. Their enthusiasm and excitement was contagious! After hearing about each book, we compiled a list of our Top Ten books to read in Year 6. Why not use this list to help choose your next book?

India Class Top Ten Books (in no particular order!):

• Mr Nobody’s Eyes – Michael Morpurgo
• Harry Potter: The Chamber of Secrets – J K Rowling
• The Trials of Apollo – Rick Riordan
• Frost Hollow Hall – Emma Carroll
• Wings of Fire – Tui T Sutherland
• The Wizards of Once – Cressida Cowell
• The Fearless Travellers’ Guide to Wicked Places – Pete Begler
• Forbidden Friends – Anne-Marie Conway
• Inkheart – Cornelia Funke
• Rooftoppers – Katherine Rundell

February: K'Nex Challenge 2019

Ghana and India competed this week to earn a place in the K'Nex engineering final by designing and building structures to lift heavy objects in a warehouse. Some of us used pulley systems, some elevators and some levers. Congratulations to Alex and Thea in India Class who were the overall winning team and who will be representing Cirencester Primary School in the final in May! Please take a look at the pictures of our structures and see which is your favourite...

February: Safer Internet Day

On Tuesday 5th February, Cirencester Primary School participated in Safer Internet Day. This was a chance for us to remind ourselves of all the learning we did in the Autumn term about keeping ourselves safe and protected when using technology both at home and at school. We were lucky enough to be visited by our local SchoolBeat police officer who gave us a presentation and some scenarios for us to discuss. It is hugely important that our generation is equipped with the tools, knowledge and confidence we need to deal with this constantly growing issue so please ask us about what we learnt!

Y6 Trip to Young Voices

On Thursday 17^th January, Year 6 went to Birmingham to sing some songs with 6,000 other pupils.

They had to practise the songs every week up to the Young Voices concert. Some songs had dances to go with the words which they found extremely fun.

On Wednesday – the day before the concert – Mrs Foster asked India and Ghana to perform in front of the whole school in assembly. Three songs were chosen: Moana Mashup, It’s a Swing Thing and The Greatest Showman. After that they couldn’t wait for the actual concert!

It was the day of the concert. India and Ghana had two and a half hours of learning in school – including break – then they would be on the bus to the Young Voices Concert. The time felt like 2 minutes because of how excited they were. Finally, they arrived at the concert. The fun was about to begin … after lunch of course.

After lunch, Year 6 went to rehearse a bit more and got a first look at where they were performing and were absolutely blown away by the size of the arena. When the rehearsal finished 6,000 children went to tea then - when they had finished – it was time to perform the concert. FLASH! The lights went out. Everybody got really excited because no-one knew that the lights would change. During the performance they got to see Urban Strides perform. They were amazing! They also got to sing with some amazing singers.

Overall, Young Voices was an unforgettable experience for the whole of Year 6.

By Louie (Year 6, India Class)

Young Voices

Thursday 17^th January 2019: we left our school by coach which took us to the NEC at Birmingham where we were performing at Young Voices.

When we arrived at the arena, we had our lunch, then we went and found where we were seated and started rehearsing the songs with other schools. The dance instructor who was teaching us the actions was very entertaining. At 5pm we went and had our tea.

The evening came and the parents entered the arena and then we went into the concert. There were lots of celebrities and dancers performing throughout the evening.

My best song was the Greatest Showman.

I really enjoyed the experience and performing with other people.

By Hannah (Year 6, India Class)

December - army visit

In December, Year 6 spent some time creating envelope packs for service men and women who would be overseas and away from their families this Christmas. Our recent learning about evacuees and WWII helped us to empathise with people who have to cope during difficult times away from their loved ones. We included: a letter of introduction explaining who we were, why we were writing and what our pack included; a set of instruction on 'How to make a wartime hero' and an artwork relating to soldiers at Christmas time.

Subsequently, we were fortunate enough to be visited by six members of the 29th Regiment Royal Logistics Corp, Duke of Gloucester Barracks (based in South Cerney). Alongside collecting our letters, they kindly gave a presentation on the changes in weaponry and kit between WWII and now; they also taught us about everyday-life in the services. Last - but certainly not least - they let us try on lots of their military kit. They even left us some of their ration-packs for our Christmas party (although they did warn us that they were pretty unpleasant!)

Year 6 thoroughly enjoyed this highly educational visit and took the opportunity to ask many thoughtful and insightful questions: what a special afternoon!

November - Macbeth

We were fortunate enough to be a very interactive audience at our recent Macbeth production performed fantastically by the Young Shakespeare Company. We know the whole story so well - please ask us about it. Later in class, we created our own powerful witches' spells using trochaic tetrameter for structure and necromancy for the gruesome ingredients!!!!

Y6 Evacuee Trip (By Roksana)

On the 9^th of October, Ghana and India travelled back in time to the 1940s. Putting on fabulous disguises, the children experienced being evacuated, during WWII. From going on a steam train to being in an air raid, year 6 had a great time.

During WWII, children had to be evacuated due to the Blitz. The Blitz was an awful time where major cities, docks, and train stations were being bombed. Children had to leave for the countryside, in steam trains, which is exactly what year 6 did. They went on a very old fashioned steam train; they loved the experience. Along the way they met real evacuees from WWII, who told them a lot of important information.

Once Ghana and India were in the countryside, they needed to be prepared. While India went off to learn more on WWII, Ghana practised firefighting with AFS members (Auxiliary Fire Service) and had a whale of a time. Using water pumps to push out water into the hoses, they needed to get as much water into their bucket as they could. The bucket was around 4 meters away, and sometimes toppled over!

The sirens rang all over the station as Ghana were walking into the air raid shelter. Bombs were going to fall and they needed to be as safe as they could get. The lights went out and you could hear the British firing back. It was petrifying knowing a bomb could fall on them any second. Luckily, they got out alive and can tell the tale!

As Ghana class were off to learn more on WWII, it was India’s turn to learn about firefighting. Little did they know German planes were heading their way…

Ghana was safe but now it was India heading into the shelter. Every second counted: a bomb could fall any second. It was silent, you could hear everyone’s hearts beating, but then the bombs started to drop. Would they make it out alive?

Learning more about WWII were Ghana, listening very carefully. They were taking part in a range of activities: dressing up, in uniforms, washer woman clothes and suits; playing with WWII toys, like skipping ropes and marbles and guessing the object with our teams, like pots, candle holders and dusters.

Soon it was time for lunch, and both classes headed out to eat. Unfortunately their food gave away they were from the future. Luckily though no one saw, or they would be in trouble.

The time to leave came too quickly: they needed to get back to 2018. Farmer Bill – who took care of Ghana – and India’s farmer Broomfield had to say goodbye to their evacuees. And as year 6 walked through the time portal, they thought how lucky they were that 2018 has peace.

Autumn term - World War Two: why did children leave their homes?

In the Autumn Term, Year 6 will be learning about World War Two with a specific focus on the effects on children who had to leave their homes as evacuees or refugees. We will study the causes of the war and how it affected the lives of millions of people across the world, looking specifically at evacuation in Britain as well as at the plight of child refugees escaping from Nazi occupied Europe.

Our text this term is “Letters From The Lighthouse” by Emma Carroll which will support historical understanding and also help to inspire fiction and non-fiction writing in English.

September - Financial Awareness Workshop

On Friday 28^th September, all of Y6 took part in a Financial Awareness workshop run by St. James’s Place. Each child was allocated a virtual £500 which they kept control of on their bank-sheet. They were then able to choose to spend or invest this money in a selection of activities including pontoon, darts, building schemes and physical challenges. They also had the option of saving part of their money in the bank at any time in order to keep it secure and earn interest on it. The children learnt valuable lessons throughout the day as they began to realise which activities were high-risk (the possibility of high returns but low probability of success) and which were more secure money-makers. They also learnt (the hard way!) of the dangers of trusting your money to strangers with no contract signed or guarantee of returns. That sneaky Rich Richie!!! Our winners - with extremely impressive totals of over £3000 - were Roksanka, Leo, Thea and Mika.